Now That I Don’t Hear Your Voice
by take risks
Summary: Hermione spun around wildly, desperately searching for the familiar blond hair. Songfic based on We Belong Together by Mariah Carey. SEQUEL TO DRIVE UNTIL YOU LOSE THE ROAD. HGDM


**Now That I Don't Hear Your Voice by take risks**

Songfic: We Belong Together by Mariah Carey. 

This is the **sequel** to _Drive Until You Lose The Road._ I suggest you read it first, or this won't make much sense. xx

**_Reviews are soooo greatly appreciated._**

* * *

In _Drive Until You Lose The Road:_

_Looking at Hermione one last time, Draco whispered, 'I can't come back to you.'_

_Hermione closed her eyes and dropped back onto her seat as her body racked with emotion and tears poured down her face._

_Draco walked away from Hermione, leaving her sobbing at the table. He reached the door and pulled it open, feeling his own heart breaking; again. Draco Malfoy stepped out onto the sidewalk, feeling empty and lost as the icy wind tore at his face._

* * *

Hermione gradually became aware that she had stopped crying. She didn't remember how long she had just been sitting there, completely unaware of time as people flowed in and out of the café.

She felt so empty.

Standing up, she walked steadily over to the door, staring blankly ahead. As she stepped out onto the sidewalk, the icy winter breeze whipped up and pulled at Hermione, dragging her out of her stupor. Hermione shoved her hands fiercely into her pockets as she ducked her head and followed the path, letting it take her where it willed…

**_XXX_**

The next day Hermione walked into her office, a cup of coffee in one hand and _The Daily Prophet _in the other. She tossed the newspaper, which she had barely glanced at, onto her desk and threw herself into the chair behind her desk.

Draco's desk was empty. There was not a piece of parchment or a stray quill on the table, let alone one of the many contraptions he had taken such child-like joy in.

Hermione scowled. She drank the hot remaining coffee in a single gulp and stalked out to her secretary.

'Where is Mr Malfoy?' Hermione demanded.

The secretary looked up at Hermione in surprise.

'He didn't tell you?' the secretary asked incredulously, 'Mr Malfoy has resigned.'

Hermione blinked and her face darkened.

'Right,' she muttered furiously, 'Right.'

'Er – Miss Granger?'

'What?' Hermione snapped.

'You have a meeting with Mr Hopkins at noon.'

Hermione nodded swiftly and stalked back into her office slamming the door behind her.

_So he quit? _Hermione thought feverishly. _Well good! If that is who he truly is then I'm better off without him!_

Hermione sat back down at her desk and stared at the paperwork in front of her.

_The Department of Magical Law Enforcement in accordance with the abolishment of the Pro-Pureblood act…_

Hermione read the first sentence six times. She set her quill back down and allowed the thoughts that pushed at her brain to consume her.

She felt so _guilty. _His face had shown no emotion, but his eyes… She had broken him like no one had before. Hermione had never seen Draco that vulnerable, that hurt. _And it was because of her._

Tears began to slowly fall from her eyes as Hermione played the previous night's events in her mind.

Was she really just going to let him walk out of her life?

Hermione stared down at her desk, looking, but not seeing the memory of when Draco had first told her that he loved her drifted into her mind, forcing the tears to drop faster, more fiercely than before.

_**XXX**_

That night, Hermione lay in her bed, unable to fall asleep because the sound of her thoughts were beating too loudly against her ears, demanding she pay attention, whether she wanted to or not.

Hermione felt his absence like she would feel the absence of her arm, and it was eating her up inside. Every time she thought of how she may never see him again, she felt physically ill.

She missed the way he strutted into work, she missed the way she could tease him and he would get all fired up, she missed the way she could talk to him about everything and he would understand.

She missed the way he would know how she felt with just one look. She missed the way he would meet her eyes from across a busy room, and the world would cease to exist around them because it was just the two of them-

_What had she done?_

**_XXX_**

Hermione flung the door of her apartment open and ran down the steps to the sidewalk, cursing as she realised she was only wearing her slippers, a singlet top and very, very short shorts.

The rain beat across her face as Hermione began sprinting down street. Stopping at a red light Hermione shivered, realising she was completely soaked, and that her top was now see-through.

**_XXX_**

She had been running for twenty minutes before she saw the street. Lurching around the corner, she pelted up to the mansion.

Hermione banged on the door impatiently and scowled slightly when a house elf answered the door.

'Is Draco there?' Hermione panted, leaning dizzily against the wall.

The house elf shook its head, 'No miss, he's gone away.'

Hermione spun around and numbly stumbled back out into the street, without saying another word to the house elf.

She walked back to her apartment in the rain; rejoicing in it's hard pelting, because no one who walked past noticed that she was crying.

Later, Hermione walked into her apartment and headed into her bedroom, full of self-loathing. Staring at her bed in disgust, Hermione lay down on the floor next to it, deciding she wasn't worthy of her bed. She fell asleep on the floor several hours later.

* * *

_Hermione, _

_I haven't heard from you in three weeks now. I tried visiting you at work a few times, but your secretary told me that you were at meetings, so I went to your apartment last Friday night. You weren't at home. I asked Ron if he had heard from you, but he said he hadn't. Hermione, something is up. It was you who insisted that you, Ron and I catch up at least three times a week for lunch… you've never missed a lunch before. I'm really worried about you, and so is Ron, Hermione, he thinks Malfoy finally showed his true colours and has kidnapped you, and that you are currently hiding in Cuba. I heard from Ron that Malfoy quit his job three weeks ago, that's why Ron thinks that Malfoy has something to do with it… Hermione, what's happened?_

_Harry._

Hermione held the letter she had just received from Hedwig loosely in hands, and she shut her eyes tightly as tears once more flooded to her eyes.

She had been so blind.

Hermione always pressed ahead. She was determined, stubborn and smart, and because of that, she had feared her own feelings. All she wanted, all she _craved _was one last glimpse, one last touch. Draco Malfoy was sending her insane.

Three weeks. Hermione had visited the Malfoy Mansion at least twice a week in the past three weeks and she had gone to The Cauldron Café everyday, in case he had shown up. It seemed as though he had disappeared off the face of the earth.

Every time someone said his name, Hermione felt physically sick inside. She saw his face in her dreams, which had now turned to nightmares; she saw traces of his past everywhere. Her thoughts were eating her.

* * *

Hermione hadn't seen Draco in a month. Her work was deteriorating, and Harry and Ron had finally found her sitting at bar one night, and had taken her home. They both checked up on her twice a day. Hermione felt like a prisoner.

Walking out of her office, she murmured to her secretary that she was leaving on her lunch break. Hermione exited the building and followed the sidewalk down the street, not really caring where it took her.

One foot in front of the other. That was how she had been living for the past month; she had just been trying to get through the day, rather than living the day.

The aroma of coffee reached Hermione's nose and began tempting her, pulling her gently towards the shop. She pulled the door open and entered the busy muggle coffee shop, joining the line to the counter.

She slowly came closer to the counter as people received their coffees. Finally, there were only three more people ahead of her in the que. The blond man who had just received his coffee turned to walk out of the shop when he and Hermione's eyes met.

_Oh, sweet Merlin. _

Hermione's heart stopped beating as Draco Malfoy looked back at her, as a look of surprise instantly disappeared from his face. Draco pulled his gaze from her and walked out of the shop.

Hermione was still staring at the spot where she had seen him, and finally regained her senses, running from the line to the busy streets outside.

Hermione looked around, but couldn't find him. He had disappeared.

She slammed her back against the closest wall and slowly sank to the concrete path, sobbing fiercely.

_**I didn't mean it when I said I didn't love you so **_

_**I should have held on tight I never shoulda let you go **_

_**I didn't know nothing I was stupid, I was foolish **_

_**I was lying to myself **_

Hermione felt a hand on her arm and looked up, having to blink several tears away. A woman stood before her, looked at her worriedly.

'Are you okay dear?' she asked Hermione gently.

Hermione hiccupped and nodded. She watched as the woman then walked away, joining the throng of people pushing through the streets.

Deciding she couldn't stay there on the sidewalk, Hermione stood up and began walking left, with no particular destination in mind.

Why hadn't she stopped him before he left the shop? She was _so _stupid!

_**I could not fathom that I would ever be without your love **_

_**Never imagined I'd be sitting here beside myself **_

_**'Cause I didn't know you, 'cause I didn't know me **_

_**But I thought I knew everything **_

Hermione felt someone bang into her arm, shoving her sideways as the impatient man hurried on. The tears that had been streaming down her face slowly dried up as a hopeless pit of despair filled her stomach.

_**When you left I lost a part of me **_

_**It's still so hard to believe **_

_**Come back baby, please **_

_**'Cause we belong together **_

Hermione spun around, wildly, desperately searching for the familiar blond hair. She prayed she wasn't too late.

_**I only think of you and it's breaking my heart **_

_**I'm trying to keep it together but I'm falling apart **_

Hermione trudged back the way she had come, stopping in a crowd at a red light. The clicking of the waiting pedestrian light filled her brain until it stopped and the crowd began to walk across the road.

She followed them across the road and then stopped.

Blond hair. _His_ blond hair.

She ran, more desperately than she had ever run in her whole life. But he was crossing the road at the next intersection. He hadn't seen her.

_**Who else am I gon' lean on when times get rough **_

_**Who's gonna talk to me on the phone 'till the sun comes up **_

_**Who's gonna take your place there ain't nobody better **_

_**Oh, baby baby, we belong together **_

The red street light signalling not to cross the road lit up as Draco reached the other side. Desperate, Hermione ran out across the street as the cars began to swell forward.

Time seemed to slow down as Hermione saw Draco turn at the sound of a car horn being sounded at Hermione.

She saw the look of surprise on his face as Hermione dodged the first two cars and made it halfway across the intersection.

_**I'm feeling all out of my element **_

_**I'm throwing things, crying **_

_**Trying to figure out where the hell I went wrong **_

_**The pain reflected in this song it ain't even half of what I'm feeling inside **_

_**I need you, need you back in my life, baby **_

Cars screeched to a halt as Hermione screamed, a car coming within inches of her right. She hit the pavement with a thud and turned over wincing in pain as everything started to go blurry.

She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out all the sound and pain around her.

She opened her eyes. She could no longer feel the pain and everything seemed distant, as if she were seeing things outside of her body.

Draco's face hovered over her own; he had bent down over her and was holding her body tightly, _weeping._

_**Come back baby, please **_

_Why was he crying?_ Hermione thought, blinking again.

Things slowly became more focused, so she blinked again and the pain came rocketing back.

Stirring, Hermione tried to sit up in Draco's arms, but her head was too heavy, throbbing with pain.

She lay there for a long time, until she could finally lift her head. Hermione could see a circle of people watching her; one person was on the phone, asking for an ambulance.

Hermione looked up into Draco's eyes, trying to say everything in the look they were sharing. She didn't know if he had understood.

Draco helped Hermione to her feet slowly.

Hermione turned to Draco, and kissed him.

_**'Cause we belong together **_


End file.
